Garment hanger



May 11, 1943. M FREEMAN 2,318,770

GARMENT HANGER Filed Jan. 30, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 luv: Mot.

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May 11, 1943- R. M. D. FREEMAN 2,318,770

GARMENT HANGER Filed Jan. 50, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 11,1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GARMENT HANGER Richard M. D. Freeman,Goldsboro, N. 0. Application January 30, 1941, Serial no. 376,701

1 Claim.

This invention relates to garment hangers and morev particularly tohangers adapted for use initially by dry cleaners for returning alltypes of suits, overcoats, dresses and other garments after they havebeen cleaned and/or pressed.

Considerable difllculty has been experienced in the use of the ordinarygarment hanger in the satisfactory adaption of the same in supportingvarious kinds of ladies and gentlemens garments in that when the garmenthanger is constructed so as to be satisfactoryfor use in supporting someof these garments it does not effectively support certain of the otherkinds of garments.

In the usual type of garment hanger now in general use today by the drycleaning and pressing establishments, certain of the lighter sleevelessgarments such as mens trousers, vests, ladies garments with shoulderstraps, ladies skirts, etc., must be pinned onto the hanger, otherwisethey are likely to slide off or be shaken 011 durin delivery and may belost, or wrinkled up where a garment bag is used in conjunction with thehanger. The pinning of these garments on the hangers has a number ofobjectionable features among which are the additional time and laborrequired to place the pins in the garments, the unsightly pin holes leftin the garments after the pins have been removed, the tendency of thepins to cause wrinkling of the garment, and in delicate garments thelikelihood of the garment to tear or become damaged during its removalfrom the hanger should it happen that some of the pins were overlookedand not removed. Therefore, an object of the present invention is theconstruction of a simple and inexpensive garment hanger in whichgarments of various types may be supported thereon without the use ofauxiliary securing means such as pins and the like.

A further object of my invention is the provision in a garment hangerformed of a single length of bendable resilient material having anelongated supporting bar and side bars inclined upwardly to thesupporting hook portion of the hanger, in which the side bars each haveoffset gripping portions normally tensioned against the elongatedsupporting bar to yieldably grip any garment placed on the supportingbar.

A further object of my invention is the provision of finger loops formedin each of the offset gripping portions which are normally tensionedagainst the elongated bar to constitute gripping means for thegarmentvor garments supported by the bar, the finger loops also forminga curved Still another important object of my invention is the provisionof cushioning means located on the finger loop member and disposedbetween the loop member and the elongated bar member.

Other objects and advantages of the invention Y will be hereinafterdescribed and the novel features thereof defined by the appended claims.

In the drawings: Figure l is a side view of one improved form of garmenthanger embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a side View of a slightly modified form of my invention;

Figure 3 is a side view of a further modification;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view showing the finger loopportion of the garment hanger as disclosed in Figure 3;

Figure 5 enlarged vertical sectional view taken approximately on theline 5-5 of Figure 4 and showing in dotted lines a garment disposed onthe elongated supporting bar; and

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 4 disclosing a tubular cushioningmember disposed on the finger loop portion between the finger loop andelongated supporting bar.

Like reference characters designate correirponding parts in the severalfigures of the draw- Referring particularly to Figure 1 of the drawings,the hanger member is preferably formed of a single piece of wire bentupon itself to provide an elongated garment supporting bar I andupwardly inclining side bars 2 and 3. The extremity of the side bar 3 isbent to form a supporting hook or suspension member 4 while theextremity of the side bar 2 is twisted around the side bar 3 asindicated at 5 intermediate the same and the hook portion 4. The sidebar members 2 and 3 are each provided with inwardly extending oil'setgripping portions 6 and l ter minating in the finger loops 8 and 9. Inthis form of the invention the finger loop portions are tensionedagainst the top or upper side of the supporting bar I so that when thegarment is placed on the supporting bar I, the finger loop portions8-and.9 will exert a downward clamping pressure on the garment tosecurely hold the same in place on the bar I. By placing a finger in theloop portions 8 and 8 or grippin the loop portions between the thumb andforefinger and exerting an upward pressure thereon, the gripping members6 and I may be readily elevated to permit ready removal of the garmentfrom the supporting bar I.

The opening into the loop portions as seen in this figure of thedrawings is comparatively narrow and the sides of the opening aresubstantially parallel so that the loop portions constitute supportingmeans for receiving the supporting means of other garments such asladies slips, skirts which today are usually provided with supportingloops, and the like, the. shoulder straps or supporting loops of whichmay be disposed in the loop portions 8 and 9, thus supporting thesegarments against lateral shifting on the hanger,

and the straight upwardly inclined passage from the loop to the exteriorof the hanger makes it easy and convenient to remove the garment fromthe hanger, while minimizing accidental displacement therof from thehanger. If the suspension loops of a skirt or the like are too small topass over the ends of the hanger and into the hanger loops, then bydepressing the tension loops, the end portions of the hanger may becontracted sufiiciently to permit passage of the skirt loops thereover.

In Figure 2 of the drawings I have shown the finger loop portions ID ofthe inwardly ofiset gripping members II to be of semi-circular form andtensioned against the side of the elongated garment supporting bar i2.By disposing the gripping portions H at the side of the supporting barl2 instead of being tensioned against the top of the bar I2, I find thatthe garments may be held in place on the bar with less tendency of thegripping members to leave impressions on or creases in the garment.

If desired a cardboard tube l3, as indicated by the dotted lines inFigure 2 of the drawings, may be employed. This tube is disposed on thesupporting bar l2 during the formation of the hanger.

Figure 3 illustrates a modification in which the finger loop portions I4are substantially the same as disclosed in Figure 1 except that they aretensioned and positioned to engage the side of the elongated bar [5instead of the top, as best seen in Figure 4.

In this form the hanger is more angular in that the end portions of thesupporting bar l5 are bent abruptly at [6 to form the side bars l1, andthese side bars are formed with an intermediate bent portion l8 and asubstantially horizontal portion l9 leading to the hook member 20.

In Figure 6 the loop portion 14 of the gripping members 2| is providedwith a rubber tubular sleeve or resilient friction covering 22 whichassists in holding the garments on the supporting bar l5 and due to itsyielding action reduces the tendency of the gripping member to pressionson the garments.

By, forming the hanger with comparatively acute angles at the bentportions, I find that it seems to place more stress or tension on theportion of the hanger above the bottom bar, thus reducing the tendencyof the hanger to deform due to the weight of the garment supported bythe bottom bar.

By constructing the gripping portions 6, l, and II, II, and 2|, 2| so asto provide only a relatively narrow opening between their parallelsides, the total length of wire required for each individual hanger iskept to a minimum, and the gripping pressure exerted thereby is confinedto a limited area of the garment, thereby minimizing creasing orwrinkling of the garment. Moreover, by keeping the size of the fingerloops relatively small, there is less tendency of lateral slippage ofthe garment on the bar and hence minimum wrinkling of the garment.

It is to be understood that while the tube i 3 form imhas been shown anddescribed in relation to one form of invention, it may be applied to anyof the other forms if desired. Likewise, the resilient friction member22 may be applied to the other hangers as well as to that of Figure 6.

While the specific details of construction have been herein shown anddescribed, the invention is not confined thereto as alterations may bemade without departing from the spirit thereof as defined by theappended claim.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

A garment hanger of the class described, comprising a continuous lengthofbendable resilient wire formed into an elongated garment supportingbar and side bars inclining generally upwardly from the respectivelyopposite ends of the gar- .ment supporting bar and terminating in asuspension member located substantially midway between and above theopposite ends of the garment supporting bar, said side bars each beingprovided with an elongated offset garment gripping member coacting withthe garment supporting bar aforesaid, said gripping members eachcomprising closely spaced parallel arms bent from the respective sidebars of the hanger and depending therefrom at an inclination towards thearms of the other gripping member, said arms of each of the respectivegripping members defining a garment receiving slot therebetween openingin a generally upward direction, and terminating in a rounded loopnormally tensioned against the garment supporting bar and defining afinger hole for moving said gripping member away from the bar and alsofor receiving the supports of a garment therein upon introduction ofsaid latter supports through the slots between the arms of the grippingmembers.

RICHARD M. D. FREEMAN.

